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District says Cognia release will give more MCAS detail; ESSA allotments set for grant planning
Summary
Officials said the MCAS vendor change to Cognia will release more test items and essay responses for analysis, and that ESSA Title I/II/IV allotments are available with grant-writing meetings planned for mid-September.
Jody Goodhue told the School Committee that a change in MCAS assessment vendors will give the district more actionable test data for analysis.
She said the vendor shift from Pearson to Cognia will result in Cognia releasing 50% of operational test items for grades up to 8 and full question releases for grades 9–10; student essay responses will also be available. "So we will have 50% of all the operational test items for everything up to grade 8...and the grade 10 and the grade 9...we will get all of the test questions released to us," Goodhue said. The additional item release will enable deeper analysis of what questions measure when students struggle.
Separately, Goodhue provided a brief ESSA funds update: Title I allotments decreased while Title II increased slightly; the district has an upcoming mid-September deadline to write grant plans for ESSA allocations.
The committee did not take formal action on funding allocations at the meeting; staff said they will convene meetings to determine how to allocate ESSA categories.
